Like A Woman
by AndAllThatMishigas
Summary: The Bartlets need a new car.


Author's Note: I drive a zippy sports car and I commute every day and other drivers are annoying so I like to show off a little and this idea came into my head :)

 **Like A Woman**

"You know, I'm still not convinced this is necessary."

Abbey glared at her husband as he parked their family Chevy at the car dealership. "Jed, we've talked about this. I need my own car."

"We've been doing fine trading off! You take me to the train station on the days I'm at Dartmouth, and I take you to the train station when I need the car," he pointed out.

"Yes, and on days when I'm in surgery until midnight, I have to spend the night on a cot in the hospital. And frankly, I'd rather come home when I can. I'm away from you and the girls enough as it is."

Jed sighed. He did like the idea of having her home more. "Okay, fine." He opened the door and got out of the car. He crossed over to her and said quietly, "Just let me do the talking. All I need to know is what color you want."

Abbey rolled her eyes. "White."

"Alright, let's get you a white car!" Jed said enthusiastically as they walked up to the Ford dealership.

As Jed caught the attention of a salesman, Abbey wandered amongst the cars. She smiled softly. It had been a long time since she'd had a car of her own. Her parents had bought her an original 1955 white Thunderbird for her 16th birthday. It was old and not much to look at, but after she'd flirted her way to getting the boys in auto shop to fix it up for free, it ran like a dream. When she'd gone off to Notre Dame, Kate had taken the car and destroyed it in a fender-bender after two months. And after college, she and Jed hadn't needed or even wanted a car in England. But now that Millie had moved to New York and Jed was splitting his time between teaching in Hanover and working with the School Board in Concord, Abbey didn't have a convenient way to get to Harvard most of the time. So at thirty-three years old, Abbey Bartlet was finally getting her own car.

"Abbey, honey, do you know how to drive a stick?" Jed called over.

She gave him a mildly disgusted look. "Of course I know how to drive a stick!"

"Okay, just checking!" Jed went back to talking to the salesman.

Abbey made her way back to the two men, curious to see what they had chosen for her.

"Alright, Mrs. Bartlet, your husband tells me that you're in need of your own car to drive to and from Boston, is that right?"

Abbey nodded at the patronizing bald man who smiled paternalistically at her.

"I'll show you a couple of models that get good gas mileage and are safe for you and the kids," the salesman said, leading them down a row of vehicles.

"And she wants a white one," Jed added, putting his arm around her waist.

"White. Of course," he replied with another smile.

Abbey stiffened as the followed around the lot. Jed was trying to be macho and show off. Well, she'd get him for that.

After trying to confuse her with words like torque and horsepower—all things the guys in auto shop had showed off telling her about on the TBird—Jed nudged her toward the car he thought would be best. Taking the hint, Abbey pointed to the white sedan and said, "I think I like this one."

"Great! I'll go draw up the paperwork. Unless you'd like to take a test drive?"

Unsurprisingly, that comment was directed at Jed. Abbey smirked and interjected sweetly, "Actually, I'd like to take a test drive."

The salesman looked surprised. Jed saw the look on his wife's face and heard that very specific tone in her voice. This was going to get interesting.

Abbey snatched the keys out of the man's hand and got into the driver's side of the Ford Granada. Jed got in the backseat behind her as the salesman got into the front passenger seat. Before the man could even say one word about the convenient layout of the dashboard, Abbey started the engine. "Buckle those seatbelts," she informed them as the engine roared to life.

Jed hadn't even reached for his seatbelt before Abbey backed out of the parking space and peeled out onto the main road. She tested the acceleration and handling of the car through complex maneuvering through traffic.

"Abbey!" Jed practically shrieked his wife's name, shocked at her driving.

She ignored him. "I like how it drives. It's lighter than I imagined."

Glancing over, Abbey noticed that the salesman was petrified. Too afraid to speak. It was all she could do to keep from laughing.

"Abigail, what the hell are you doing!?"

"I'm test-driving, Jed."

"You're driving like a maniac!"

They had arrived at a red light, so Abbey turned in her seat to face him. "In case you haven't noticed, I've used my blinker for every turn and lane change. I haven't exceeded the speed limit or gotten anywhere close to hitting anything." She turned back, sitting up tall in her seat. As soon as the light turned green, she was off again.

"You're not James Bond, so will you quit it with the stunt driving?" Jed's voice was lowering in register and he was starting to get less scared and more annoyed.

Just for that, Abbey made a sharp turn, knocking Jed into the door with the centrifugal force.

"Does this car get AM and FM radio?" Abbey asked.

"Y-yes, ma'am."

"And what colors does the interior come in?"

"Gray and brown cloth, tan and brown leather."

Abbey was glad that the salesman was starting to get a little more comfortable. She gently pulled up to the Ford dealership and parked the car exactly where it had been earlier. "I think this will work just fine. I'd like it in white with tan leather."

The salesman was still a little shaky as he returned to firm ground. "I don't think we have that in stock, but I'll order it for you, Mrs. Bartlet."

"Thank you. Oh, and I'll be paying for this myself," she informed him as they walked toward the office.

"You will?"

"Yes, I'm a thoracic surgeon at Harvard, and my husband is an economics professor. I make a lot more money than he does." Abbey smirked proudly.

Jed brought up the rear of the group but grabbed Abbey's arm. "Please tell me you don't drive like that when the girls are in the car."

"Of course not! What the hell do you take me for?" she replied, shocked that he'd even suggest such a thing. "It took me until Ellie was two before I was comfortable even driving the speed limit!"

"So then what the hell was all that?"

Abbey shrugged. "I had a Thunderbird in high school. We used to drag race in the summer. I got pretty good."

"Ah. Well that explains it. Because you don't drive like a…"

"Like a woman?" Abbey raised her brows, challenging him on that.

"Yeah."

"That's a stupid stereotype," she grumbled.

He shrugged. "Most stereotypes are like that."

Abbey sighed. "Just go sign the papers. Because I need my husband's permission to buy a car.," she said bitterly.

"How do you know that?"

"I was here last week and tried to buy this exact car but the salesman told me then that a married woman couldn't buy a car without her husband's signature."

Jed rolled his eyes. "You make over twice my salary but they need my signature for you to pay for your own car? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"We can work on fixing that later, but right now I just want my new car."

He gave her a quick kiss. "You got it, honey."


End file.
